Grover's A Smart Cookie
by The Girl Who Cried Wolf 1
Summary: So basically after Percy tells Annabeth about his dream of Rachel during the last book. It's obviously an alternative to what happened and what could have happened.


Sooooo.... Heyy! This is my first fanfiction, but I don't want you guys to be all nice and chill if its an ugly mess. I have trouble grading my own work, and so it would be great if you could tell me what you liked from it (if anything) and what you dislike form it (especially if you hate it all).

BTW - I don't own anything but the idea for this little one shot. I'm just a fourteen year old who finds writing fun

Sand was getting kicked up by my feet and jumping into my socks as I stomped away from Percy. I was pissed off. To think, that I had kissed him only a year ago, and now he thinks that he can just come up to me and basically ask for girl troubles with Rachel?

I hit the tetherball as I walked away form him and toward the strawberry fields. The problem is, I love and hate him. I love the person that he is and I'm so proud of everything that he has been able to accomplish, but he never seems to see me in the same light and it pisses me off. Look at the facts! I have always been there fighting at his side, and then he meets this Rachel girl all of a sudden, and he instantly wants to go to her beach house and go hang out with her.

I stomped/jogged over to the far end of the strawberry field and lied down and watched the clouds go by. It was late in the afternoon and Apollo was driving his chariot into beautiful sunset when I heard a twig snap. I gripped my dagger tightly and spun around to find Grover hunched over as if he had been trying to sneak up on me. He sighed when he saw I had spotted him and started walking normally towards me, well, as normal as you can get when you have two hooves.

"Hey Annabeth," Grover sat down beside me and gave me a hug. His voice sounded kinda sad and I silently wondered if he and Juniper were fighting. It's sad when your friend is half goat and has more of a love life than you. At least I'm not the only one out there that feels depressed right now I thought bitterly to myself.

"Sup Grover?" I questioned, I mean, wouldn't you be a little suspicious if your friend came sneaking up on you?

"Juniper and I have been having some fights and so I figured I'd help some other people out instead. And well, I was wondering…" He started, twirling a blade of grass in his fingers. "I don't know if I should say anything…" His face was squished together as he squinted at the setting sun as if it would give him all the answers.

"Just spit it out! You know I hate it when people aren't straight out with something," I snapped at him. I was already in a bad mood because of what had happened with a certain green-eyed son of the sea.

"What has gotten into you guys?" Grover grumbled and crossed his hooves.

"What do you mean "you guys"?" I asked impatiently, I knew he was talking about me and Percy because if he had been talking about Juniper and me, he would've said you girls, but I didn't feel like talking about that stupid boy right now. I wanted Grover to either tell me what's up or just go away for right now.

"Well, I come back from roaming around the world trying to fix up the mess with Pan dying, and I was expecting a problem with you guys telling Percy," I flinched at the name, "about the prophecy but I didn't think you and him would have such confusing emotions towards each other!" He folded his arms across his chest and gave me a pout, pretending to be hurt by the way I had been acting. I gave him a small smile, which disappeared quickly. When Grover tried to make me laugh it reminded me of how Percy always had the ability to make a joke in the worst of times. I used to think that it was immature and reckless to not have your mind focused on whatever threat we were faced with, but now I wished that Percy was here to make me laugh. Thoughts of all the good times I've had with Percy washed through my brain like a tornado that left nothing but the blunt knowledge that I'm in love with my best friend and he couldn't be blinder to it. I ducked my head when I felt tears welling up so I could blink them away easily without Grover even having to know that they were ever there.

Grover's face was lit with confusion when his attempt to ease the tension was easily dismissed. He crawled over to me and lifted my chin so I had to look him in the eye. His eyes questioned mine, but I couldn't voluntarily let him know what was going on in my head. Hell! I barely understood how I was feeling.

"Annabeth, what happened with you and Percy?" Grover asked softly still looking directly into my eyes. I averted my gaze and stared at one of the plump strawberries.

"I don't really want to talk about it," I mumbled. Grover had always been like a big brother to me, and right now was one of the times in life that I needed him most.

"If you tell me, I'll get you a full bucket of the best strawberries here," He bribed. I smiled at his coaxing and gave in. I told him everything. From first meeting Percy and how I thought he was just a stupid boy; how he held me as I cried after hearing the Sirens; when he held the sky for me and I felt like somebody finally loved me and how he danced with me that night; how I kissed him at St. Helen's and how he stayed with Calypso and then when he did come back he wanted to hang out with Rachel; and then finally how he would rather be off at the beach with Rachel then here with me.

I had been staring at the deep green grass throughout my story that match a certain person's eyes, and now looked up to see Grover with a sad smile on his face. I was all talked out and I felt like five minutes ago, I still had the sky on me and then when I told Grover all these things, it was just lifted. He stood up and was rocking back and forth on his heels when he took a shaky breath but didn't say anything.

"Grover? You said that weird emotions have been rubbing off of me and Percy," I bit my lip nervously wondering if Grover would be mad and say that I was using him to invade Percy's privacy. _But you are!_ A voice whispered form the back of my mind. Well, sometimes you just gotta do things your own way, and hope for the best, I thought to myself, pushing down the feeling that I was doing something wrong.

I looked up to see him looking at me expectantly.

"About those emotions, could you please tell me what he's been feeling?" I knew that it was asking too much, but I couldn't help but try to get some confidence that Percy likes me back.

"I don't know, I mean, it's not my place really to tell…" his words faded as he drifted off into his thoughts. When he snuck a look at me I gave him my puppy dog pout that has always worked on him since I was a kid.

"Ugggghhhh. Alright! But if I tell you then you have to promise to never use that look on me again, it's not fair!" he complained lightly. "Annabeth listen, I don't have much because I don't like to pry, and these emotions actually came to me. You see, I don't actually _mean _to feel your emotions, they just bounce off of you when they're really strong. If I concentrated hard enough, I probably could understand your reactions to everything because I would know the cause of it and why your mind would react that way. This gift that I have is something special because, unlike most of the other satyrs, I can get into your head and see the world from your point of view emotionally, cause and effect. But you also need to remember that even though I have this power, I've never used it before because I hate jumping into things that aren't mine," Grover stared me in the eyes as he taught me about himself in such a serious way, that I was surprised that he was the actual Grover that I've always known to be jubilant and gleeful.

"I've entrusted you with my only secret, Annabeth, because I need you to know that I don't purposefully get information about your life from you, and that its because my emotional pull to people is so great that I automatically sense some things from people."

The sun had sunk beneath the mountains in the distance across the water. He let his words sink into my pores and up to my brain before speaking again.

"With that in mind and you knowing that I am only doing this because the problems are between my two best friends, do you want to know how he's feeling?"

_This isn't the right thing to do, and you know it too. What would you mother think if she found out that her daughter has been in love with a son of Poseidon? _

"My mother isn't any part of this. This is _my _life and nobody can tell me what to do," I thought with such ferocity that Grover must've felt it because his raised his eyebrow at me.

"Great, now I'm communicating with Grover through telepathy," I grumbled in my head.

"Okay, I'm ready. I want to know how Percy is feeling right now," I asked, finally speaking aloud. Grover gave me a curt nod and then squinted his eyes in concentration, using the link thing between the two to interpret Percy's feelings.

"Right now, I he feels sort of depressed really. Specifically, I know he's feeling loss, probably from Beckendorf's death. There's some self loathing, again, probably from not being able to save Beckendorf. Dread is a big one, its most likely form the prophecy. There's confusion and I can feel that it has something to do with that Rachel girl; I feel that he's freaked out that he dreamt of her and that she will have something to do with this final war. There's another emotion, it's harder to get to," Grover made a grunting noise that made me think of a fat man sitting on a toilet, constipated.

"Give me a second, he keeps this one hidden and so its harder to understand," he explained.

Just as Grover finished his sentence, I heard someone coming closer. I lightly smacked Grover to get his attention and he automatically shut up.

"What is it with people and sneaking up on me?" I grumbled sourly.

I turned around to see a familiar shape walking hesitantly towards us, as if he was afraid a hydra would pop up form behind us and yell out, "Gotcha!"

I know it wasn't helping anything, but when he started walking to my side I glared at him. He seemed to get the hint because he redirected his body so he would end up on Grover's side.

He plopped down on the soft grass and I inwardly groaned. I had wanted to figure out if Percy likes me and since he's here I obviously can't ask Grover, "Hey Grover, you never did tell me what that other emotion was? By the way, I had been secretly hoping that it could have been some small form of love for me." Yeah, like that would help things become less awkward between us two.

He smiled widely at Grover but when our eyes met his grin turned into a tentative smile. I tried to return it but I'm afraid that it looked more like a grimace.

"Hey Grover, long time no see!" Percy suddenly exclaimed and tackled Grover into a backing breaking bear hug. I pursed my lips when I saw the joyous gleam in Grover's eyes when Percy hugged him. Grover hadn't even had a chance to say "Yo, waz up?" to him yet, and I had already taken up his time for my own selfish insecurities. I sighed and I immediately felt Percy's eyes lock on my face with a questioning look.

"I can see that you guys have a lot to catch up on, so I'll see you later?" I added a question to the statement, not knowing if I really wanted to see Percy for awhile. I got up to leave but Percy's hand caught my wrist and held me down.

"Come on Annabeth, don't leave," his eyes pleaded with me to stay and I sighed in defeat, even though I was still pissed at him for liking Rachel so quickly, I still had feelings for him.

"Fine, whatever," I grunted, when in reality I was bubbling on the inside with suppressed surprise that Percy wanted to be around me.

My little bubble of happiness vanished when I heard Grover's next words, "I _know _that there are some issues between you two, and instead of both of you coming to me separately asking what each other's deal is, how about you guys work it out on your own?" He commanded more than suggested, getting up and wiping the dirt off his hands. Even though the sun had set and there was little to no light, I still saw a bright red blush that had crept onto Percy's face when I looked up at him, appalled.

Grover looked back and forth between Percy and me and took our embarrassed silence as an agreement.

"Well, I'll see you guys at dinner, that is, if you two can get your lips and hands off of each others for enough time to eat," He wriggled his eyebrows and then scurried away down the small incline to dinner. I was about to throw a rock at him for saying shit like that, especially since I had just poured my heart out to him half an hour before, but when I looked back at Percy to see his new reaction it took me by surprise.

He finally couldn't hold it in once I looked his way, and Percy started laughing his head off. If Percy has talked to Grover about the same thing than he knows that I like him, and here he is laughing at me. My blood was boiling and I felt like hitting something, but instead I took it out on him.

"What in Hades is so funny! You're such a _stupid _son of Posideon, and I wish you were never born! Go die in a fucking hole you asswipe! What the fuck is wrong with you? You know that I like you and then you sit there all high and mighty _laughing_ at me!" His face had changed from an embarrassed red to a ghostly pale but I didn't even want to know why, I just wanted to hurt him as much as he'd hurt me.

"Annabeth, I didn't – " I cut him off before he could even start.

"NO! You always get to say everything that's on your mind because your considered the stupid joke-cracking hero, whose allowed to get away with everything, while I here, have to be perfect because I'm the fucking daughter of fucking Athena! I kissed you at St. Helen's and the next thing I know, you either at Calypso's island or fucking with that damn Rachel girl! " I got up in his face which had his mouth open as if he were trying to figure out a math problem.

"Who has been the one that has always had your back in a fight? I'd give up my life for you and I bet you wouldn't even give me a passing glance," I whispered, staring into his beautiful green eyes. I clenched my jaw and sat down away from him clutching my knees to my chest.

Something warm was running down my face, and I realized the warm feeling were tears. I was too worked up to keep yelling at him, if I tried to keep shouting I wouldn't be able to get through the first word because of the lump in my throat that had accumulated there during my rant.

"Just go Percy. Live your dreams, go to Calypso's island, stay with Rachel, I don't know. All I do know is that I can't be around you anymore," I croaked through the tears, barely above a whisper.

Grass rustled behind me and I felt him come closer to me.

"Annabeth, stop and listen to me for just one second," he started, crouching down next to me, "I would _never _laugh at you, not in a way of making fun of you. That's bullshit about me not willing to give up my life for you, and you should know that. I held the _sky_ for you, doesn't that show you anything? I've dealt with your mom harassing me saying 'I don't want you hanging around my daughter' and 'Kronos has always taken people who you love, and so, if you chill with my daughter, she'll get fucked up'," Percy wiped a strand of my hair out of my eye and behind my ear. He shifted his body so that he was kneeling right in front of me so I couldn't look away.

"You might now believe me, but I love you Annabeth. I had been laughing at how simple it would have been for Grover to have just told us that earlier, and it was nice to see your normally composed face bewildered for just a moment, letting me know your human," He joked at the end, trying to down play that he had just told me he loves me for the first time. He had finished his speech and was waiting for any reply from me, but I was speechless. My silence took away some of his confidence and he was starting to mumble, "If you meant 'love' in a different way then…" I didn't give him time to finish his sentence because I pounced on him and started kissing him passionately. He froze for a second and then started responding just as eagerly as me.

Grover ended up being right when he had said that Percy and I wouldn't make it to dinner because we wouldn't be able to keep our lips and hands off each other.


End file.
